Category Peter Kilkuskie

Aug 3 2012

Animal Man 12

Today, Drew and Peter are discussing Animal Man 12, originally released August 1st, 2012. This issue is part of the RotWorld crossover event. Click here for complete RotWorld coverage. Not caught up on Animal Man? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session. Also, we’re covering Swamp Thing #12, head over to get analysis on the second half of this story. 

Drew: One of my biggest pet peeves in comics is the assumption that “bigger is better” when it comes to threats the hero is facing. I understand the sentiment — if saving one person is good, saving one million must be a million times as cool — but in practice, it often turns the risks into abstract hypotheticals. Such abstractions lose the human connection that is so easily established by a single person in danger. In comics, a single loved-one in danger is just as cliched as when it’s the whole city, but when handled well — as in Animal Man 12 — the payoff is much greater. Continue reading →

Aug 2 2012

Before Watchmen – Nite Owl 2

Today, Peter and Shelby are discussing Nite Owl 2, originally released August 1st, 2012. Nite Owl is part of DC’s Before Watchmen prequel series. Click here for complete Before Watchmen coverage (including release dates).

Peter: Dan Dreiberg is a likable character. He’s the sympathetic hero, the guy you identify with. There is something about him that makes you go ‘awww’, and something that makes you say ‘that could be me’. Or at least, I say that when I read him. The Before Watchmen version of Dan is anything but that. Combine that with a very uninteresting, or engaging storyline, and issue 2 still fails to meet expectations. There is a glimmer of hope, as things begin to pick up…a little.

Continue reading →

Jul 30 2012

All-Star Western 11

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing the All-Star Western 11, originally released July 25th, 2012.

Peter: All-Star Western has really embraced its role as a historic book. Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Grey have taken it upon themselves to not only tell incredible western tales, but to weave them into the greater DC Universe, even if they take place centuries before Bruce Wayne put on the cowl, or Superman strapped on the cape. Two of Gotham’s most notorious criminal organizations are gearing up to collide — of course Jonah Hex finds himself in the middle of it all. Continue reading →

Jul 27 2012

Green Lantern: New Guardians 11

Alternating Currents: New Guardians 11, Drew and PeterToday, Drew and Peter are discussing Green Lantern: New Guardians 11, originally released July 25th, 2012.

Drew: One of the things that keeps me coming back to this title is the diversity of its cast. They aren’t necessarily the most deeply drawn characters, but their personalities rub against each other in interesting ways. More importantly, those conflicts were set as the centerpiece of this title, a rarity in the largely mythology-driven Green Lantern group. After the fracturing of its core team, and a series of half-hearted crossovers, this title was in danger of losing that distinct voice, and becoming another cog in the Green Lantern machine (not that it’s a bad machine, but I think this title is strong enough to stand independently of whatever plotting is tying the rest of the GL universe together). I was heartened, then, to see the team back together in this issue, refocusing on their shared goals. Continue reading →

Jul 25 2012

The Vault – Superhero Coasters

The Retcon Punchers spend an awful lot of time looking for ways to celebrate our nerdy obsessions. This means a lot of time sunk into scouring Etsy, Deviant Art, Think Geek or whatever. Sometimes we see things so great we just have to share them… and then clutch them fiercely to our collective chest. Throw it in The Vault.

Website: Etsy

Who Would Love This: Nerdy people who don’t want moisture rings on their furniture

Price: $8.50 per set of four

I drink lots of liquids at home. Who better to guard my furniture from moisture rings than The Flash? These coasters are really cool. They are made from actual comic book pages, on stone. The artist, Popcycled does lots of different ones, both DC and Marvel so you can show your allegiance in the subtlest way. Coaster racks are also available for purchase so these can be more easily displayed in your home. Coasters are something you don’t really see a lot of today, outside of cardboard ones at bars, or your grandma’s house, so lets bring them back! I plan on purchasing some of these real soon. Since these are made from actual comic books, I wonder if the artist would consider custom jobs?

Jul 25 2012

Chat Cave: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises. Welcome to the Chat Cave.

Hey, here’s the unfortunate reality: The Dark Knight Rises is going to be forever linked to the shootings in Aurora, Colorado. Unless you saw a midnight show, your theatre-experience was affected by the actions of one 24-year old with some guns and a gas mask. You had police officers wandering in before all the major action sequences, you looked twice at everyone that walked in. What happened was terrible and we’re going to be hearing and reading and writing and talking about it for a long time. And while we’re not in the habit of covering current events, we absolutely have to talk about the new Batman movie. No one’s trying to be crass, no one’s trying to be dismissive; our discussion is going to be about the movie we all saw this weekend. Let’s try to keep it that way in the comments.

Oh, and f’real: SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

Continue reading →

Jul 24 2012

Red Hood and the Outlaws 11

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Red Hood and the Outlaws 11, originally released July 18th, 2012.

Peter: Red Hood and the Outlaws is a bit of an odd duck. It has the makings of a Bat Family book: it’s got Jason Todd, once Robin the Boy Wonder, now ultraviolent vigilante. It also has two ex-Teen Titans, one of whom apparently was a bad ass space captain, while the other was addicted to heroin. While the early story arcs really focused on Jason, (and the Night of Owls), this current arc is about Koriand’r/Starfire. Turns out, she used to be (and still is) a badass.

Continue reading →

Jul 23 2012

Green Lantern Corps 11

Today, Shelby and Peter are discussing Green Lantern Corps 11, originally released July 18th, 2012.

Shelby: The current run of the Green Lantern Corps is largely about dissension. It’s a powerful force that any dissenter will tell you is necessary, usually to achieve freedom from oppressors. But it’s also a tool which can be wielded against the oppressed to scatter their forces and further cement the power of the oppressors. So far, the dissent Guy and John sparked has played into the hands of the Guardians, aiding them in their plans to destroy the Corps to make way for the Third Army. This issue might mark the turning point when things finally spiral out of their controlling, blue hands.
Continue reading →

Jul 20 2012

Justice League 11

Today, Shelby and Peter are discussing Justice League 11, originally released July 18th 2012.

Shelby: Losing a loved one is beyond difficult. It can be the most trying, emotional, painful experience we’ll ever know. Whether it’s a sudden death or a prolonged illness, the grief of loss is a heavy burden to bear. It’s one thing to forever carry the memory of a loved one with you, but something else entirely to carry that burden of grief, never letting go, never moving on. Justice League features a villain literally doing just that; Graves constantly carries with him the souls of his family, and his grief will not abate until he exacts his revenge. You would think with such a heavy and universally relatable idea, this issue would garner something stronger than “meh.”
Continue reading →

Jul 19 2012

Nightwing 11

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Nightwing 11, originally released July 18th, 2012.

Peter: Sometimes all the right pieces just fall into place, just as they have here, weaving an incredibly compelling story. In Nightwing, Kyle Higgins treats us to not only a standard superhero book, but a carefully crafted mystery/thriller story. It almost reads like a police procedural. Dick continues to try to clear his name, and reasserts his place as one of Gotham’s premiere crime fighters in the process. Continue reading →